Galaxy Nexus Battery Life

[mattywalnuts]

Totally agree, you shouldn't have to go through gyrations for decent batt life. I just got my extended batt today and it doesn't do much to the profile of the phone at all. Not sure why they didn't have this one in the first place. Just a slight added weight which I like. I'll let you know what I find in the next few days but already it seems like around 30% more life.

Ok, that being said, things are going to improve with software updates and radio updates. Hang in there. I was about the give up on the phone until I realized I really like it and anything else would be a huge step down. Now with Wallet installed, ICS humming along, I'm gonna keep this baby. Carry an extra batt or usb cord if you'll be away from a charger and you expect heavy use.

Believe me, I REALLY want to keep this, I ordered the extended battery as well. I'm only on two full battery cycles so things can only get better.

Question for the group...If I keep a spare battery in my work bag, how long will it keep its charge?

 

[yan193]

Here's my go today. After fully charging I did a reboot. Nine hours with almost no usage, only 33 minutes of screen time. Checked emails and facebook a few times, pretty much it. Mobile network set to CDMA only as there is no 4G here yet and 3G on the entire time. The signal sucks at home and work, usually around -100 dBm.

Is there any way to drill down to find what's using the CPU the keep awake? Right now this is just stupid, I have the extended battery on the way, we'll see if a battery swap fixes it but I'm guessing it's an app issue.

 

[bjanow]

Believe me, I REALLY want to keep this, I ordered the extended battery as well. I'm only on two full battery cycles so things can only get better.

Question for the group...If I keep a spare battery in my work bag, how long will it keep its charge?

Forever! I had one batt in a bag (for my TB) that I totally forgot about for about 4 months. Put it in the phone and had 97% or so left. Charge your original to full and then put in the extended. You'll be good to go.

 

[Romparoo]

I couldn't be happier with my performance. After 8 hours with Netflix, FB, text, email, phone calls, and screen set at just below 50% I had 38% battery to go.

For those of you with good battery life, did you condition the battery charge first?

Same question for those with bad battery life.

Also, for all my posts except where noted, I have LTE turned of, just on CDMA only.

 

[mattywalnuts]

Forever! I had one batt in a bag (for my TB) that I totally forgot about for about 4 months. Put it in the phone and had 97% or so left. Charge your original to full and then put in the extended. You'll be good to go.

Nice, thank you.

 

[William T Riker]

So since I have had mine now since launch I will share what I have discovered with my device. Battery life has been on par with other Android devices I've used which goes into saying- If you're on it alot you will kill your battery! If you leave both radios on (LTE/CDMA), you will kill your battery!

If you use it alot, as in Screen ON, and brightness about 3/4 bar like me it does eat juice. This should be common sense. My first few charges I only seemed to get between 7-14 hours a charge, much less than my Bionic which can easily go all day (but also is not Super AMOLED HD.) Display seems to be #1 for me except when I let it run idle. Then Android OS seems to not go to sleep and run. ( I think this is a bug there seems to be several threads on this and will most likely be fixed in an update. My Bionic had a similar issue which Cell Standby which was resolved by update) When I am at home, I leave it on CDMA only (4G reception isnt great in my basement) and switch to LTE/CDMA when I go out. Another thing strange I notice is sometimes the battery has little spikes where it gets charge back which is weird I leave it off the charger from the time I take it off til its dead or 1-5% (whenever I catch it)

This is my 6th charge right now.

 

[DPiddy]

The first few days I had it, battery was burning down in 4-5 hours (probably due to app downloads on 3G). Today I got 14hrs out of it with light to moderate use and heavy use the last hour.

I'm thinking about buying the app "Tasker" to automatically turn on 3G at work since 4G is so weak and Wifi when at home. Anyone use this app? What are your thoughts.

 

[gripweed]

In regards to turning off 4G to save battery....isn't it only on when 4G is available? I have it in some areas around Cleveland, but when it's not available, my phone isn't draining battery looking for it is it?

I'd imagine people living in places with 4G every where probably have less battery life than people who get 4G an hour or two out of the day driving around.

 

[zerocool79346]

Are you discharging to 0%? I have been reading things about lithium ion saying you should not discharge the battery to dead as it affect longevity.

I will say though battery life has been much better on my second nexus !

These phones will never let the battery discharge to absolute 0, they have a failsafe built in (I've heard anywhere from ~3-5%) to keep it from doing that exact thing.

 

[X24]

Around 12 hours with 1/3 of the battery left. Had WIFI on for about 4-5 hours. All the rest is 4G. Decent. Extended battery on the way.

 

[skr8ness]

For what its worth or FWIW... haha I was on a forum for the Nexus S. The Nexus S users who have had their phones for over a year and had the ICS update complain of huge battery loss. Its the OS thats eating up that battery. Mine is the same....I run at an average of 28%. Its my hope that an Update is going to fix this and hopefully battery life will improve. When that comes?? who knows... So hang in there if you really like the phone. I'm pretty sure after reading that thread its OS related.

 

[X24]

Also, forgot to mention, screen on for roughly 2 hours

 

[Romparoo]

For what its worth or FWIW... haha I was on a forum for the Nexus S. The Nexus S users who have had their phones for over a year and had the ICS update complain of huge battery loss. Its the OS thats eating up that battery. Mine is the same....I run at an average of 28%. Its my hope that an Update is going to fix this and hopefully battery life will improve. When that comes?? who knows... So hang in there if you really like the phone. I'm pretty sure after reading that thread its OS related.

That is interesting and sounds promising. I know 2 with ics on Nwxus S, I will ask them about it.

 

[NF3RNO]

This phone has the best battery life of any smartphone i've used. It gets better battery life than my DX.


1hr 12 minutes of Browser
14 minutes of Handcent
2hr 12 minutes of Screen on, on the second from highest Brightness.
4G on except for WiFi the last hour (mostly picked up 3G at work)
A couple but quick phone calls

 

[authority11]

Here's my go today. After fully charging I did a reboot. Nine hours with almost no usage, only 33 minutes of screen time. Checked emails and facebook a few times, pretty much it. Mobile network set to CDMA only as there is no 4G here yet and 3G on the entire time. The signal sucks at home and work, usually around -100 dBm.

Is there any way to drill down to find what's using the CPU the keep awake? Right now this is just stupid, I have the extended battery on the way, we'll see if a battery swap fixes it but I'm guessing it's an app issue.

This is basically exactly what I am experiencing. I also have an insanely high awake time for the Android OS listing and, for the life of me, cannot figure it out.

Do any of you guys think it's worth trying to swap out for a new gnex? With how prevalent the battery issues seem to be, i think that would be more wishful thinking than anythingelse

 

[authority11]

This phone has the best battery life of any smartphone i've used. It gets better battery life than my DX.


1hr 12 minutes of Browser
14 minutes of Handcent
2hr 12 minutes of Screen on, on the second from highest Brightness.
4G on except for WiFi the last hour (mostly picked up 3G at work)
A couple but quick phone calls

I don't understand how your phone has such outrageously better battery life than everyone elses.

 

[NF3RNO]

I don't understand how your phone has such outrageously better battery life than everyone elses.

I also forgot to mention that when im done using apps like the browser etc. I clear them from the background using the swipe from screen method. Not sure if it helps though. My extended battery should also be here hopefully soon.

 

[cosmosan]

For what its worth or FWIW... haha I was on a forum for the Nexus S. The Nexus S users who have had their phones for over a year and had the ICS update complain of huge battery loss. Its the OS thats eating up that battery. Mine is the same....I run at an average of 28%. Its my hope that an Update is going to fix this and hopefully battery life will improve. When that comes?? who knows... So hang in there if you really like the phone. I'm pretty sure after reading that thread its OS related.

Yep.

There has been an issue/defect filed for this:
Issue 22878 - android - Galaxy Nexus ICS 'Android OS' High Battery usage - Android - An Open Handset Alliance Project - Google Project Hosting

Many Nexus S owners have chimed in claiming their battery life has taken a turn for the worse after upgrading to ICS. I suggest folks click the link above and "star" this issue so that it gets elevated to high priority. You can "star" it by clicking on the star next to "Issue 22878".

 

[authority11]

Yep.

There has been an issue/defect filed for this:
Issue 22878 - android - Galaxy Nexus ICS 'Android OS' High Battery usage - Android - An Open Handset Alliance Project - Google Project Hosting

Many Nexus S owners have chimed in claiming their battery life has taken a turn for the worse after upgrading to ICS. I suggest folks click the link above and "star" this issue so that it gets elevated to high priority. You can "star" it by clicking on the star next to "Issue 22878".

I totally believe it. The Android OS on my gnex is a much higher % than on any of my previous android phones. Something is definitely funky with it.

 

[VTarantino]

Screen - 1hr 23min
GPS - 56m 4s

I'm pretty happy with this result. I did a bit of web browsing during the day, watched a video or two on YouTube, and even did an hour of Navigation, with the screen on half of that time. This is with the standard battery, and I have an extended on the way.

I also never turned 4G off. I think one of the keys is that I'm in the Bay Area, and the 4G network is pretty strong here. My phone isn't having to switch between 3G and 4G, nor does it need to hold on for dear life to maintain 4G.

 

[connor11493]

Yep.

There has been an issue/defect filed for this:
Issue 22878 - android - Galaxy Nexus ICS 'Android OS' High Battery usage - Android - An Open Handset Alliance Project - Google Project Hosting

Many Nexus S owners have chimed in claiming their battery life has taken a turn for the worse after upgrading to ICS. I suggest folks click the link above and "star" this issue so that it gets elevated to high priority. You can "star" it by clicking on the star next to "Issue 22878".

Starred.

Thanks for pointing this out, cosmosan. Hopefully, Google will release an update within the coming weeks. (Thank God this thing's a Nexus!)

 

[ttaylor0024]

Well, all battery life questions I had before have now been put to rest. This thing is amazing! After a normal day of use, my GNex is STILL going strong! Here is where it's at right now:

Over two hours of screen on time. I have been using wifi all day, a few calls, almost an hour of games (Homerun Battle 3D and Backbreaker Football), web browsing, downloading more apps, etc. The main thing is that I changed the wifi sleep policy to screen on only at around 50%. I will end up leaving it there, as I have not noticed any data loss when waking the phone up. This thing is amazing! Time to completely drain the battery for final night of calibration, I imagine I can get a full episode of Flying Wild: Alaska through netflix watched before it dies

EDIT: It looks like I stuck it on the charger a few times, I honestly have no idea why it looks like that. Must still be calibrating, and simply got the percentages wrong, It hasn't been plugged in once all day for anything at all.

 

[XFistsClenched]

I don't understand how your phone has such outrageously better battery life than everyone elses.

I don't think his results were outrageously better than everyone elses. My last charge lasted me 28 hours with very light use. There is no 4G in my area and when I am at home, my phone is connected to my wi-fi.

 

[yawdapaah]

Got through 24hrs on a charge on a mixture of 4G and Wifi (mostly). A bit of web browsing, lots of texting, a few calls, and Grooveshark radio (on 4G) whilst driving.
I rebooted a few times to load different Mods/Kernels put the phone on the charger at 21%. Real test will be tomorrow; I'll be watching some shows (MKV) on my bus rides

I have good signal at home/work so that probably helps.

Edit: I'm on Birdman's 4.0.3 and faux123's kernel btw.

Edit 2: Also, IMHO, do yourself a favor and makes sure Keep Wifi on is set to Never, especially if you have decent signal. I have a long post on my opinion on this issue somewhere on AF.

 

[Gnex79]

I get anywhere from 6-9 hours on mine with light to moderate use, I've been enjoying my toy a bit more than I normally will in the future as of lately because its still new. I desperately need a case!